Exploring Life, Passion & Money

Though I Thought I Could Do it All, I Could Not Do it All Well

Growing up in the countryside of north Florida, I was a simple girl. School, chicken, Disney channel, my few select friends, church. I wasn’t thinking about my future much besides college. That was the goal. That was my purpose. Get good grades. Go to college for something that makes sense. However, once I got into college and saw a brand new world of people, places and things, I opened myself up to endless possibilities of who I could be and do (and be with).

I distinctly remember being somewhere between 24 and 25 with about 3 or 4 ideas of what I was going to do with my life. I was going to own a daycare center, write a book and be an author, run a non-profit organization, teach virtual school and somehow have time to spend time with a husband that didn’t exist yet, and raise my imaginary children. Keep in mind, this wasn’t the end of my ideas. THERE WERE MORE. I just can’t remember because they’re no longer relevant. Go figure.

I was enthusiastically telling this to my mentor when she basically said “it’s nice you want to do that but you can’t do it all and do it well. You won’t be able to fully commit to anything and it may not be as successful as you think.”

I was livid. First of all, stop doubting me! I CAN do this. I can just hire someone in the daycare center and I will just oversee it. I feel like God has called me to help youth! I CAN run a non-profit for them. I won’t let anyone kill my dreams. I CAN. I CAN. I CAN!

I couldn’t.

And I didn’t.

First – with what money? Second – with whose stable mind?

I didn’t even know where I was mentally, emotionally or spiritually at the time. I was trying to find something to fulfill me and fill a void because I had been dismissed from college (story for another day) and now I was aimlessly seeking for something to fill that space. I NEEDED something to complete me. If college couldn’t be that void filler, my ambition would be.

But my ambition was getting me nowhere. I was picking and choosing things that sounded good for the moment and making zero sense. Just being silly.

So when I wrote that blog post about this being one of the lessons I’d learned by 27 – I meant it. You CANNOT do it all and do it all well. You just can’t – especially when you’re circling around things that seem like a good idea, but aren’t GOD ideas.

We waste time putting energy into things that don’t serve us. It takes away from time we could be spending connecting with God to understand what our purpose really is and going on a journey of self-discovery with Him.

As my mentor said, you won’t be fully committed to anything.

If anything, do ONE thing. Study it. Learn it. Become a master at it. THEN you can add to that. When was the last time you mastered one thing? What’s ONE thing that you do well? (Other than running your mouth and being glued to your phones or beds?)

I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t have anything right off the dome that I can say I do WELL. There are definitely things I do. Now that I’ve learned this lesson, it’s about time I learn how to do things well. Be know for one thing. Don’t be the convenience store – with the check cashing area on the side, selling fried chicken boxes in the corner, with the DVD man hustling at the front door.